Ucluelet's Wyndansea Oceanfront Resort project is the latest major golf, hotel and residential Island development to go on the market after falling into financial troubles.
With a $37-million price tag, the 146-hectare site on the Island's rugged and windy west coast is being marketed after creditors, owed close to $25 million, forced a court-ordered sale.
Site development is based on a plan that was estimated to have a build-out value of $650 million. An environmentally friendly five-star hotel, plus spa, salt-water pools, restaurant and bistro offering locally sourced foods and wines, several hundred homes and hotel rooms and a deep-water marina were all part of the design.
The property is being marketed internationally, said John Buckley, senior financial analyst with commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis, from Vancouver yesterday.
Like the 135-hectare Cliffs Over Maple Bay, Wyndansea had golfing star power attached to it. Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus visited the Wyndansea site to design an 18-hole course. At the Cliffs, golfer Greg Norman, dubbed the Great White Shark, has designed a course as well. Debts on the Cliffs have been estimated at close to $30 million and an offer to purchase is set to close Sept. 25. Marketing just started on Wyndansea.
In each project, zoning is in place, some initial site work has been carried out, but no homes or hotels have been built, and golf courses are not complete.
Earlier this year, developer Elke Loof-Koehler's Wyndansea project went into receivership with $52 million in liabilities, about half in mortgages held by Liberty, Cooper and Bancorp. At that time, Loof-Koehler said she was confident a financial restructuring plan would allow the project to continue. But shortly afterward, the B.C. Supreme Court lifted that protection and creditors pursued foreclosure.
Loof-Koehler could not be reached yesterday. B.C. court registry documents list Loof-Koehler as president of Marine Drive Properties Ltd., the parent company for the development, and for Wyndansea Hotel Inc. and 0707624 B.C. Ltd. All three are not in good standing, the registry said.
The court would require that any sale reflect the market value of the property, Loof-Koehler said in a recent release. The property was assessed at $79 million in the spring, said Marine Drive Properties, saying it was aiming to raise new capital and continue with the development.
Early on, Wyndansea faced questions about its suitability as a golfing destination. The Island's west coast markets itself as a storm-watching destination. More than two years ago, Victoria tourism consultant Frank Bourree said weather could restrict the number of golfing days available.
Nearby Tofino has gone through a major transformation in recent years as hotels and high-end homes go up.
Developers have turned their attention to Ucluelet, about 40 kilometres southeast of Tofino, where the population is about 1,600 through the winter, growing in the summer when tourism peaks.
The four-page Wyndansea brochure said the plan included 520 single and multi-family residential units, plus 405 hotel units. Off-site servicing is complete and some on-site work has been carried out, mainly in what is dubbed the Signature Circle lots.
